Show aap 1 by THORNTON W BURGESS THE NEIGHBORS DISCUSS MR AIR AND MRS AIRS BULLY OF COURSE such an unpleasant v affair as the fight between bully the english sparrow I 1 and skimmer Sl ammer the swa swallow allow for the possession of skimmers house made a great deal of talk in the old orchard everybody felt sorry for skimmer and told him so and said all the unpleasant things they could think of about bully and his wife sympathy asvery is very nice but a little help from some of them during r t ar I 1 did you ever see such dirty things in all your life sputtered jenny the f fight g h t would have been better thought Skim skimmer mero but he say so he and mrs skimmer found an empty house one that drummer the woodpecker built so long ago that he had quite forgotten it and in inthis this they once more started housekeeping it as pleasantly located as the old home but still stil I 1 it was in the old orchard bully and mrs bully worked very hard to build their home in the house they had stolen from skimmer and you may be sure that they were closely watched vat ched by their neighbors did addid you ever see su such ch a mess of stuff for one home hom ea why I 1 could build three nests out of what they have already carried in there and they are still bringing more I 1 see they use dead grass mostly with some hay bay and feathers they are not a bit particular where they geu get it either and some of it is the birti est stuff remarked welcome robin they dont use mud anyway said pewee slyly welcome robin flared up right away mud good mud is clean and it makes the best foundation in the world for a nest I 1 give a flit of my wings wing for a nest without it such noisy people as they arel they are all the time quarreling and they tell the whole neighborhood all their affairs said modest winsome bluebird who would never dream of doing such a thing did you ever see such dirty things in all your life sputtered jenny wren who is very neat and trim why this morning I 1 happened to be over by the road and there were those two taking a dust bath and seeming to enjoy it as much as it if it had been a water bath they threw it all over each other and then when finally they flew back to the old orchard they half shake the dust out of their feathers phew if the way city folks live I 1 dont want to ever go there jenny could not keep still but as she talked she hopped about looking at everything with her sharp eyes and jerking her funny little stick up tail to emphasize her remarks anyone who is careless about her clothes and how she looks as is mrs bully must be a dreadfully slack housekeeper continued jenny 1 I do detest dirt and dirty people they are a disgrace to any neighborhood the old orchard always has been a quiet respectable place and some of the very best families have lived here for years does that include your own asked chippy sparrow while hiie the others smiled perhaps it does and perhaps it retorted jenny im not ashamed of my family or any of my relations chippy looked a trifle embarrassed for it had become generally known that bully is a relative of his As I 1 was saying continued jenny wren some of the best families have lived here for years but I 1 am afraid they will move away away if any more such dirty common looking noisy people come here why make the whole neighborhood common I 1 think something ought to be done about it but what can be done this is is a free country said brownie the thrasher well anyway we have anything to do with them I 1 wont for onel one snapped jenny before they separated it was agreed that no one would even notice tic mr and mrs bully 0 T W burgess service |